The Northern Illinois men's basketball team isn't stumbling into the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Huskies are crawling on all fours into it.
While there are plenty of reasons for pessimism heading into their first-round game at No. 8 Eastern Michigan on Monday, the No. 9 seed Huskies have shown just enough positive signs during the regular season to have a sliver of hope.
First, the good things.
Oddly enough, the fact that they aren't playing at the NIU Convocation Center in the first round doesn't seem so bad. During conference play, they have won more games on the road (4-5) than they have at home (3-6).